All three candidates in the upcoming Kaohsiung mayoral by-election on Saturday vowed to push for infrastructure improvements, despite the city’s relatively tight budget.
During the only televised policy presentation before the vote on Sunday next week, Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said she would continue the efforts of former mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) — also of the KMT and who was ousted in a recall vote in June — to make sure that “roads are flat, lights are bright and ditches are unblocked.”
She accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which governed the city for two decades before Han was elected in 2018, of failing to maintain even the most basic infrastructure.
Photo: CNA
Adding to Kaohsiung’s woes is about NT$330 billion (US$11.2 billion) in debt left by Han’s predecessors, which was partly due to poor financial management, she said.
Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政) of the Taiwan People’s Party said that the roads must be widened to make room for more trees to mitigate the effects of “urban heat islands,” areas with higher temperatures caused by dense infrastructure.
Wu also called for changes to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) so that Kaohsiung could keep more of its tax revenues.
A person can only gain intellectual freedom through financial independence, he said, adding that the concept applies to cities as well.
Lee agreed on reforming the act, and vowed to reduce the city’s debt and increase the earnings of Kaohsiung residents.
Former vice premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) of the DPP, who lost to Han in 2018, denied that the central government has not taken Kaohsiung’s development seriously.
He said that the city received the most funding from the central government of any administrative area from 2017 to last year.
Chen also said the KMT had contributed to the city’s financial woes when it led Kaohsiung until 1998, adding that he would appeal to the central government for more funding.
He also pledged to establish standard operating procedures for the city’s infrastructure, including for project construction, maintenance and supervision.
Among the highlights of the presentation was Lee’s proposal to promote the city’s rum industry, because of its abundant supply of sugar cane.
If Kaohsiung could gain 10 percent of the global rum market, it could generate NT$50 billion annually, she said.
“Everybody knows Kinmen has kaoliang and Yilan has Kavalan [a whiskey distillery], and I believe Kaohsiung could establish its own market,” she said.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data